In a Hall of Fame-worthy career, Carmelo Anthony‘s biggest regret might be his short-lived tenure with the Houston Rockets. Melo signed with the Rockets during the 2018-19 season and his time was over within 10 games. During an appearance on Dwyane Wade‘s ‘The Why with Dwyane Wade’ podcast, Melo’s ex-teammate Chris Paul detailed the ugly trade story from his perspective.
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The Warriors guard began the story by remembering the dreadful moment when he called Melo to ask him about what was going on with him and the management, unaware of the fact that then-Rockets general manager, Daryl Morey, had already pulled the plug on Melo’s career with the Rockets. When the GM came to meet Melo, he wasn’t aware that the conversation would be about him leaving the team immediately.
The 10-time All-Star recalled, “[Morey] comes to my room and says, Yeah, I think your services are no longer needed.” When Paul heard the story, he couldn’t believe that the All-Star was being relieved from his duties like that.
Terming it as “some of the most disrespectful s**t I ever seen,” Paul also added that Melo wanted to know if his friend knew about it beforehand. So, he called CP3 and said, “Yo, CP. Listen. Bro, you’re my family. You’re my brother. You knew anything about this?” Even though everything went downhill for Melo after that because his reputation was tainted, CP3 defended Morey’s behavior on the podcast.
The 12-time All-Star said, “If you know Daryl Morey…no people skills…he don’t really understand how to talk to people.” Paul seemed to be giving an excuse for Morey’s behavior and his choice of words.
Daryl Morey took the blame for the failed signing of Carmelo Anthony
During his appearance on ‘The Haberstroh Show’ in 2018, Morey talked about Melo and took the blame for making a bad decision. Morey’s explanation was on the same lines as his conversation with the NBA veteran. He admitted that he thought bringing Melo into the equation would help the team and he’d fit in the structure, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out like that.
He said, “It really is mostly on me, honestly. I saw the fit there and really didn’t go the way I thought it would.” Morey also believed that Anthony was a well-rounded player, even in the later years of his career, and could help any team to get better. He added that any team would be happy to have him and he would be on a roster in no time.
In 10 games for the Rockets, Melo averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocks. After being traded to the Chicago Bulls, he was waived by them before his arrival. He was a free agent for the remainder of the season, and then the Portland Trail Blazers came in and gave Melo another chance toward the end of his career.
